Lasting-machine.



W. J. BRISOOE.

LASTING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED DEG. 21, 1908.

1,131,672, Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

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UNETE i anion.

WILLIAM J". BBISCOE, OF HAVEREILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

LASTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar f6, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. Bnrsoon, a subject of the King of England, residing at Haverhill, in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Lasting- Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for lasting shoes and is herein shown as embodied in a machine of the type known as the Hand method laster and described in United States Letters Patent No. SSL'H L, of June 15, 1897. This machine includes grippers for pulling an upper section by section and laying it over av last bottom in position to be secured and a presser which advances over the overlaid section of upper and holds it down upon the innersole while the grippers release their hold and give opportunity for the securing tack to be driven. 1n lasting the toe of the shoe and sometimes other parts where the upper is bent inwardly over a curved edge of the last the grippers are given plaiting movements to lay the upper in folds upon the shoe bottom. It is customary at the present time to secure the upper at the toe portion of a welt or a turn shoe by a binder of wire or other continuous material instead of securing it by tacks, as is done at the sides and heels of those shoes. An auxiliary presser is employed for pressing the upper into the angle between the feather and the shoulder of the innersole in position to be held by the binder. This auxiliary presser, which will be herein referred to as the wiper to distinguish it from the first-mentioned presser, is employed only when the wire is being used and is retracted into an inoperative position when the upper is to be fastened by tacks. These two instrumentalities, the wiper and the mechanism for giving the plaiting movements to the grippers, have always heretofore been connected together so that they were both rendered operative at the same time and by the same setting device and neither could be used without also using the other. I have found in the practical use of this machine that it is sometimes desirable to use these instrumentalities separately. For example, in lasting shoes on lasts which have a sharply concave edge at the junction of the inner side with the shank smoother lasting and better drafting of the upper can be effected by giving the grippers a plaiting movement and folding the upper over on the innersole. The shape of the last at this portion of the shoe is such, however, that the wiper is in the way of the last if it is advanced to its operative position and, moreover, the wiper would push the shoe too far to permit the tack to be inserted in the best position. Again it is often desirable on some shapes of lasts to begin the fastening of the upper by means of the wire instead of tacks before the point is reached when it is advantageous to plait the upper. As has been suggested, the best results are obtained by the use of the wiper to force into the angle the upper that is to be secured by the wire, but if the plaiting means is rendered operative on a comparatively straight portion of the last edge particular care is required from the operator to avoid having the grippers displace the upper by their plaiting movements because there is not the fullness in the upper that these movements are intended to take care of by folding the upper. The object of this invention is to meet these difliculties and an important feature of the invention consists in providing means by which the wiper or the mechanism for imparting plaiting movements to the grippers can be rendered operative while the other one of said instrumentalities remains inoperative, and a further feature consists in providing independent means by which either of said two means may be rendered operative or inoperative either before or after the other has been adjusted.

A further feature of the invention consists in making provision for varying the extent of the plaiting movements of the grippers without affecting the operative condition of the wiper. It is sometimes desirable to give to the grippers plaiting movements that are less in extent than the maximum plaiting movement as, for example, in approaching and receding from the most curved part of the toe of the shoe as the lasting operation proceeds. In prior constructions as known to me it has been necessary to throw the common adjusting device for the two wiping and plaiting instrumentalities to substantially its full limit of movement in order to connect the wiper with its actuator and it was, therefore, impractical to obtain plaiting movements of the desired variations in extent.

These and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be more fully explained in connection with the following description of the machine and will then be pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing so much of the lasting machine of said prior patent as appears to be necessary for explaining the present invention. Fig. 2 is a detail showing a portion of the new parts.

The operating parts of the machine receive their automatic movements from a shaft 2 carrying a cam 3 connected by a slide 4 with the updraw lever 5 fulcrumed at 6 and having the rippers suspended by the ball 7 from its front end. The grippers comprise two jaws S and 10, the former of which is fixed in the grippers carrier, which is formed as a sleeve from which extends a rod 12 by which the jaw 10 is closed for gripping the stock. It is reversely moved by a spring 13. The rod 12 is engaged by a spring-pressed plunger 1% on one arm of a rockshaft 15, the other arm of which has a roll in engagement with the edge face of a cam block 16. The grippers extend clown- Wardly through a guideway formed in a transversely movable block 20 which is supported in the forward end of a yoke on the sliding rod 22. This rod has a roll for engaging a cam face on the back side of the block 16 to move the grippers toward the machine. The rear end of the rod is engaged by a lever 23 actuated by a spring 24 for moving the grippers from the machine to overlay the upper. The block 20 is connected by a rod 26 with a segment block 28 movable from and toward the center of a rocker 30. This rocker is formed on the front end of a rockshaft 32 which is actuated by a lever 3%, the inner end of which has a roll standing in a cam groove in the front face of the cam block 16. The segment block 28 also has connection through a link 36 with a lever 38, the upper end of which is connected to a rack 40 which engages teeth formed on the ball 7 for rotating the grippers in time relation with the lateral movement imparted through the rod 26. These lateral and turning movements or plaiting movements of the grippers, which are employed for folding the upper at the toe of the shoe to take care of the surplus stock in the marginal portion of the upper which is laid over the concave edge of a last, are started and stopped by adjusting the block 28 from and toward the center of the rocker. This adjustment is effected by a shaft't5 located inside the rockshaft 32 and having a pin and oblique slot connection 46 with a slide 4.8 adapted to bemoved enclwise of the shafts 32 and 45 by a vertical shaft 52 connected with a knee lever 54.

The wipers 60, one of which is stationary in its adjusted position and the other of which is alternately advanced and retracted while in its operative position, are suitably supported in the framework of the machine and normally pressed backwardly by springs 62. The position of the wipers is determined by a controlling cam 65 having suitable recesses and raised portions for engagement with rollers on the rear ends of the wipers. The controlling cam 65 is connected to one arm of a lever 66, the other arm of which is connected to a plunger 70 adapted to be positioned against a shoulder 72 on the reciprocating wiper when it is desired to have that wiper actuated. The plunger is actuated by a lever 71, the upper end of which extends in contact with a cam face formed on the rear side of the cam block 3. The positioning movement of the plunger 70 is effected through the connections described when the controlling am is adjusted, the plunger being positioned to actuate the wiper when the wiper has been advanced from its retracted position and being withdrawn from operative relation to the wiper when the wiper is retracted. The parts above described may be substantially the same in construction and operation as the similar parts in said prior patent except that thelever 66 turns freely upon the vertical shaft 52 and is, therefore, not affected by the adjustment of that shaft for throwing the plaiting instrumentalities into and out of operation.

The controlling cam 65 is provided at its inner or left-hand end with a roll standing in an oblique groove in a block 80 secured to the rear end of a push rod 82. This rod is guided in the frame of the machine, as shown in Fig. 2, to prevent it from turning and is provided at its front end in convenient position to be engaged by the operator with a handle 85. By pulling the rod forwardly the controlling slide is moved toward the right for advancing the wipers and when the push rod is moved backwardly the controlling cam is moved to the left to permit the Wipers to be retracted by the spring 62.

In the use of the machine the operator presents the shoe in position for the grippers to engage the marginal portion of the upper and pull it and lay it over the last bcttom where it is secured by tacks at the side of the shoe and by wire at the toe of the shoe. The mechanism for fastening the upper by means of wire forms no part of the present invention, but may be substantially like that shown and described in British Patent No. 22079/00. While the comparatively straight sides and heel of the shoe are being lasted the plaiting movements of the grippers are not required nor can the wiper be advantageously used. When the toe is reached however, and wire is to be employed the wiper is needed for positioning the upper in the angle between the feather and shoulder of the innersole so that it will be securely held by the wire. The operator then advances the wiper by means of the push rod 82, which, acting through the lever 66, simultaneously positions the plunger against the shoulder 72 of the reciprocating wiper. As the lasting proceeds about the toe the knee lever 54 will be shifted to position the segment block 28 eccentrically in the rocker 30 for causing the plaiting movements to be imparted to the grippers. The knee lever will be moved more or less according to the extent of the plaiting movements required and as the lasting progresses the lever may be moved to increase or diminish, the movements as the conditions of the work may indicate to be desirable. In lasting the upper at the junction of the shank and the inner side of the last it will frequently be desirable to manipulate the knee lever to start the plaiting movements of the grippers without, however, advancing the wipers.

To secure the knee lever 54= and the plaiting mechanism controlled by it in different ad usted positions. a spring-pressed plunger 53 may be provided on the lever 54:, the plunger 53 being adapted to engage the teeth of a ratchet 55 on the fixed arm 57, as shown in Fig. 1. By this construction, the clownward spring pressure on the plunger 53 operates normally to keep the plunger 58 in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 55, so that the plunger and ratchet constitute yielding locking means for holding the lever 54 in any of its adjusted positions with a resistance which, while sufficient to hold the said lever securely, nevertheless can be readily overcome by force applied to the lever 54 either to start the plaiting action or to give different extents of plaiting movement to the grippers.

Having explained the nature of this invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States:

' 1. A lasting machine having, in combination, grippers and means for actuating them to pull an upper over a last, means for giving said grippers at times plaiting movements, wiper, actuating mechanism therefor, controlling means for the plaiting movements of the grippers, and means which is always independent in its operation from said plaiter controlling means and can be manipulated to set the wiper into or out of an operative position and to connect the wiper actuating mechanism with or disconnect it from the wiper.

2. In a lasting machine the combination with grippers of an actuator for turning the grippers to plait the upper, a wiper, an independent actuator for the wiper and continuously independent shiftable means for rendering either of said actuators operative or inoperative, one comprising a knee lever and suitable connections therefrom to one of said actuators and the other comprising a manually controlled device having an operating member located adjacent to the wiper and operatively connected with the wiper actuator whereby either the plaiting mechanism or the wiping mechanism may be independently rendered continuously operative or inoperative.

8. A lasting machine having, in combination, grippers and means for actuating them to pull an upper over a last, additional means for causing the grippers to plait the upper, means for controlling the plaiting movement, wipers, springs holding the wipers normally in a retracted position, a cam against which the springs hold the wipers and which is movable to advance the wipers, and means for shifting the cam to control the position of the wipers, said means having an operating member extending to the front of the machine and into convenient reach of the workman standing in position to present the shoe to the grippers.

4. A lasting machine having, in combination, grippers and means for actuating them to pull an upper, additional means for causing the grippers to plait the upper, and means for starting and varying the extent of the plaiting movements having provision for securing the parts in position against displacement under normal conditions but adapted to be overcome by voluntary effort of the operator for adjusting the parts to give different extents of plaiting movement.

5. In a shoe lasting machine the combination with grippers and mechanism adapted to be rendered operative or inoperative to impart plaiting movements to the grippers, a wiper and mechanism independent of the plaiting mechanism adapted to be rendered operative or inoperative to actuate the wiper, means arranged for actuation by the hand of the workman while he continues to present the shoe in operative relation to the grippers and wiper for continuously controlling the wiper, and means normally independent of said first mentioned means for controlling the operation of the grippers.

6. A lasting machine, having, in combination, grippers and means for causing the grippers to plait the upper, means comprising a knee lever and a shaft actuated by said knee lever and connected to the plaiting means for rendering said plaiting means operative or inoperative, a Wiper and means comprising a cam slide and a manually controlled device normally independent of the knee lever for operating the same for rendering the wiper operative or inoperative upon movement of said manually controlled device.

7. In a lasting machine, a wiper and means comprising the push rod 82, the controlling cam 65, the plunger 70, and the lever (56 for rendering the Wiper operative or inoperative upon actuation of the push rod 82.

8. In a lasting machine, the combination with grippers of an actuator for turning the grippers to plait the upper, a wiper, a position controlling cam therefor an actuator for the wiper, independently shiftable means for rendering either of said two actuators operative or inoperative, said means comprising a knee lever and suitable connections therefrom to the first named actuator, and a second manually controlled device comprising a push rod having an oblique formation thereon cooperatively connected to the controlling cam and connections from the said cam to the Wiper actuator arranged to bring said last named actuator in operative relation to the wiper present the shoe to the action of the grip pers and by which member he can shift the cam while continuing to present the shoe for the action of the grippers, and separate controlling means by which any extent of plaiting movement within the range of the plaiting mechanism can be obtained without disturbing the Wipers or necessarily establishing any operative connection between said controlling means and the wiper cam ad-t justing means.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM J. BRISCOE. v

Witnesses:

\VARREN N. HERRICK, GEORGE W'. PERKINS.

Copies 0! this patent may he obtained tor five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

